THE Senior Elders’ Forum of the Yoruba Council of Elders has asked President Muhammed Buhari to call to order the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, following his declaration as illegal the recently launched Western Nigeria Security Network (WNSN) codenamed ‘Amotekun’.
In a swift reaction to the statement credited to Malami, Col. Ade Agbede (rtd), who spoke on behalf of the forum of the YCE described the statement by Malami as provocative and unbecoming of such an exalted office.
Agbede said it is pertinent that President Buhari cautions Malami and any other member of his cabinet that may not be at peace with the security initiative, adding that ‘Amotekun’ “is a Yoruba project and what the governors did had the blessings of every son and daughter of the Yoruba nation.
“It sounds absurd and ludicrous that a security initiative made to secure the lives and property of the people that voted the governors into power could be declared illegal, whereas the marauders parading themselves as herdsmen, who have been kidnapping, killing, maiming and assaulting our people have been moving about freely.
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“The minister would have to tell the whole world the legal instrument that empowers nomadic herdsmen going about with AK 47 without any form of arrest or caution by our security agencies or the Sharia police that are in operation in some states in the Northern part of the country.
“Amotekun has come to stay as an outfit to ensure that our people live peacefully and move freely within our God-given space and as law-abiding people. The outfit will operate within the ambit of the law, cooperate with the government, security agencies for as long as our rights are not trampled upon,” he said further.
Agbede, the immediate President of the YCE described Amotekun as a child of necessity, recalling the gruesome murder of the Mrs Olakunrin, daughter of Pa Reuben Fasoranti, the abduction of Chief Olu Falae, the incessant kidnap and killings of other Yoruba sons and daughters too numerous to mention as part of the reasons that made the initiative more compelling.
The elder statesman equally called on the Yoruba traditional rulers to give maximum support to the security outfit in their respective domains stressing that “we are at a very critical stage in the life of this nation that we must hold our destiny in our hands.
“We can’t fold our arms and pretend as if nothing is happening when our house is on fire.”
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